A friend's bike

[stryker84]

A mate of mine just rode by to drop off a memory card I had lent him.

First thing I notice is his bike. I'd never seen it before this. He's brought it over from the UK, where he's originally from and where his dad still lives. It was his dad's old bike, and it just came over from that side of the world recently.

It's a Mercian. Not sure what model. 531 tubing. Shimano 600 gears, with downtube shifters. Brooks, something or other saddle looks like a B17 (still can't tell them apart) with the nose slightly missing. On the whole, excellent condition to the eye, and recently serviced.

But that's not what I notice. The very first thing that catches my eye is the distinctive Nervex lugset. And it's all thanks to this forum that I'm able to notice it!

Now if it wasn't too big, I'd have already made an offer in a flash. As it is, I think he's already had 3 offers for it since he started riding it, one from the bike shop mechanic he serviced it from!

[cludence]

Sounds nice, would be great to see a pic of it. -No I dont want to buy it. Got more than enough to keep me busy!

Karen.

[Kid_Carbine]

Ahhhhh MERCIAN, one of the much respected bespoke bicycle makers that made a real name for themselves in that wonderful period of the classic British lightweight after WW2.

Sadly, many of these firms have gone now, yet Mercian lives on, which must tell us something about them straight away. Click on the link above to be transported to the wonderfull world in which they still dwell. It brings a smile to a flinty old bastards face to see that the spirit still lives.

One of the things that we see so rarely these days is a companies willingness to ensure customer satisfaction, .... 100%.
This looks to be a standard inclusion on their order sheet.
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Special Orders
From our experience, the standard specification suits most customers, but is only a guideline. We can build this model to your own geometric specification at no extra cost.
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That's my kind of bike shop. Not that I would need a specially sized frame, but that they are willing to cater to a customers every requirement rather than try to SELL him something that they have in stock. That attitude always goes down well.

Hmmmmm, now I wonder why he's had only 3 offers so far. lol.